Attorney General Jack Conway today announced that three former employees of Oakwood Manor in Somerset have pleaded guilty to felony charges of abuse and neglect.

22-year-old Coty King, of Pine Knot, pleaded guilty April 9 to two counts of abusing or neglecting an adult; 21-year-old Cody Burton, of Burnside, pleaded guilty March 28 to one count of abusing or neglecting an adult; and 22-year-old Timothy James Ball, of Pine Knot, pleaded guilty February 23 to one count of abusing or neglecting an adult.

Both King and Burton were first arrested in September 2013 after King allegedly enticed a developmentally disabled adult patient at Oakwood Manor to hit another patient while King used his cell phone to record the incident. Burton was accused of participating in the incident and failing to report it. Further forensics review of video recovered from the cell phone also led to the indictment of Ball for his involvement in another incident staged by King.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Eddy Montgomery handled the prosecution of this matter. King was sentenced to four years imprisonment with the sentence diverted for four years. Burton was sentenced to three years in prison, which will be diverted for three years. Ball was sentenced to two years in prison, which will be diverted for a two-year period. Additionally, all three individuals were ordered not to volunteer or work in any capacity involving the supervising of developmentally disabled persons. The Office of the Attorney General will report these convictions to federal authorities. As a result of federal law, all three will be prohibited from working in any federally-funded health care capacity.

“Protecting Kentucky’s most vulnerable citizens is one of my top priorities, and I am pleased that we have brought this case to a successful close and that these three individuals will no longer be permitted to work with the developmentally disabled,” General Conway said. “As always, I encourage anyone who suspects abuse of a patient in a nursing home, Medicaid facility or personal care home to immediately report it to our office using our tip line at 1-877-ABUSE TIP.”

This case was investigated by General Conway’s Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control Unit with assistance from the OAG Department of Criminal Investigations.